We extend a special invitation to those who are single, married, divorced, filthy rich, dirt poor, que no hablan inglés. We want to welcome those who voted Republican, Democrat, third-party, or chose not to vote at all. We extend a welcome to those who have crying newborns, are skinny as a rail, or could afford to lose a few pounds.

We welcome you if you can sing like Taylor Swift or like our preacher who can’t carry a note in a bucket. You’re welcome here if you’re “just browsing,” just woke up, or just got out of jail. We don’t care if you’re more Presbyterian than John Knox, or haven’t seen the inside of a church since Easter.

We extend a special welcome to those who are over 60 but aren’t grown up yet, and to teenagers who are growing up too fast. We welcome soccer moms, NASCAR dads, starving artists, tree-huggers, latte-sippers, vegetarians, and junk-food eaters. We welcome you if you’re having problems, you’re down in the dumps, or if you don’t like “organized religion”…we’ve been there too.

If you blew all your offering money on the lottery, you’re welcome here. We offer a special welcome to those who think the earth is flat, work too hard, can’t spell, or are here because grandma is visiting and she wanted to go to church.

We welcome those who are inked, pierced, or both. We offer a special welcome to those who could use a prayer right now, had religion shoved down their throat as a kid, or got lost on the way to Graceland and wound up here by mistake. We welcome tourists, seekers, doubters, bleeding hearts…and you!

We want to welcome everyone because everyone needs Jesus. Everyone changes when they meet Jesus. And we wanted to make sure everyone knew they were invited to meet Him in this place.